Love is a Batch of Chocchip Cookies
by Jaizar
Summary: Sequel to Changing Rooms (but you don't have to read it first). in short: James in a kitchen, Lily as a teacher, and Sirius trying to make cookies. Lucky Sarah's around to help! what happens when old friends reunite under not so good conditions?
1. I Have to What?

Disclaimer: Everything but characters and events you don't recognize belongs to JK Rowling.  
  
A/N: hello again, all! Yes well, I know you all wanted a sequel, and in a sense, this is it. But I don't think this is what you all expected, so I hope I don't disappoint you! You see, a sequel like the one you wanted, would have been too repetitive, and probably wouldn't have been very interesting, and become clichéd. So, this is it instead. Hope you like it, and make sure to leave reviews so I know one way or another! : P  
  
Chapter One  
  
I Have to What?  
  
"Cooking, James, COOKING!" bellowed Auror Gragerson, pacing up and down in his spacious, fur covered study. He tapped a short whip against the table as he passed it, smiling briefly at the photo of his wife, which waved and beamed at him. He turned abruptly and squinted at the young man standing in front of him, looking a little confused. He was almost 6 feet tall, and his messy black hair was, as usual...messy. He looking completely at ease in his blue Auror uniform, which consisted of dark trousers, and a blue shirt with several different shoulder patched and badges. He was too confident, Gragerson thought to himself. Too cocky.  
  
"Uh...cooking, sir?" James Potter asked uncertainly, glancing at the door and back again. "I didn't realize that was part of the curriculum."  
  
"THIS YEAR!" Gragerson yelled suddenly, causing James to stumble three steps back subconsciously to avoid being covered in flying spit. "You are studying muggles. I want you to conduct an undercover experiment, to see how they learn, different classroom behaviors, and so on and so forth. Also, part of your training asks that you engage in a relaxing exercise at least once a week. Luckily for you, these cooking classes you'll be taking will be every second day. Actually, you'll probably be the only student coming every second day- most people only attend once a week. But anyway, I think this will be a very enriching experience, Potter, VERY ENRICHING!" he ended with another bellow and then turned and resumed his pacing.  
  
James looked as if he had just been caught in a severe wind. He was leaning as far back as he could while standing, and his eyes were wide open with what looked like...fear? James potter was afraid?? Was that a flying pig that just went past the window??  
  
"Cooking? Sir...you must be joking?' he said weakly, pleadingly. "I don't cook...I can't...cook!"  
  
"You will do as you're told," Gragerson said unconcernedly. "Take a friend along if you must. Actually, you're very lucky- we managed to find you a fellow witch as a teacher! She's a muggle born though, so she only teaches muggles in this class. She'll give you an easy go though. So, just try to enjoy it, Potter. It's not so hard." He swept a stack of books of his table and dumped them into James' arms.  
  
"Read these, just for a little revision," he suggested.  
  
James tilted his head to read the title of the first book. 'Cakes, biscuits and slices- an entirely muggle cook book.' He raised an eyebrow skeptically, but had the sense not to say anything.  
  
He had an idea the following few weeks were going to be interesting indeed. Obviously Auror Gragerson didn't know just how fatal it could be to put James in a kitchen with a stove and knives. It just wasn't a good idea.  
  
"Alright, POTTER!" Gragerson roared, turning once again to face him. "You may leave."  
  
James nodded, offered a short bow and left the room slowly.  
  
Outside, Sirius Black was waiting for him.  
  
Sirius had grown in to a tall, and more-than-handsome man, and at the age of twenty, was sometimes even described as drop dead gorgeous. Of course, it was only on very rare occasions that a girl dropped dead upon seeing him, and if they did, it would only be because of the stench of his cologne.  
  
"So?" he asked his friend, hefting half the books out of James arms and carrying them easily in one hand as they made their way down the corridors to the stairs leading to the street below. "What did old spitface want this time?"  
  
James groaned, rubbing his free hand over his eyes. He mumbled something and turned quickly into the lobby of the head offices. He dumped his books onto a desk and grabbed his coat off a peg near the door. Quickly, he dragged it on and hefted his books back into his arms.  
  
"What? Sorry, I didn't quite hear that!" Sirius said, curiosity grabbing him, and a grin spreading over his face as he realized James was obviously reluctant to say what his sentence was.  
  
"Cooking," James snapped, as they stepped out into the street, from what looked to any one else like a run-down warehouse. "I'm going to be cooking for the next couple of months. That's my brilliant first assignment as a fully-fledged Auror. I get to take cooking classes!"  
  
Sirius' grin widened. For s few seconds, he remained silent, just grinning. Then-  
  
"Want me to get you an apron for your birthday then?"  
  
James turned slowly and eyed him with a truly murderous glare.  
  
Sirius raised both hands in surrender.  
  
"Just checking." He muttered.  
  
"-And then he said, I'll pay you fifty dollars if you don't tell my wife! I mean, honestly, what sort of tart does he think I am? I don't want money or affairs; I want a good, steady relationship!!! Why can't I find that?? Is there a sign on my head that says 'fickle- don't touch'??"  
  
Lily Evans turned to survey her friend, Sarah Gallagher's forehead carefully.  
  
"Nope," she said, turning back to her work, and ticking something off on a clipboard.  
  
Sarah and Lily were in the living room of the flat they shared with their other friend, Grace Jones. Several boxes surrounded them, and Lily was going through them, carefully marking down notes on her clipboard.  
  
Sarah blew out a sigh and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Lily," she whined. "Could you please comfort me? I'm feeling just a little sad!"  
  
Lily turned around and placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder.  
  
"Sarah. You are very beautiful, you are a lovely girl and you could get any guy you wanted. The problem isn't you here; it's the male inhabitants of this planet. Ok? That is what you wanted to hear, right?"  
  
Sarah narrowed her eyes.  
  
"Very funny," she muttered. She slumped down on the small, two-seater couch and swung her legs onto a box. "What's all this anyway?"  
  
"Oh god, you don't want to know," Lily sighed, ripping open the next box and pulling out what looked to be a tea strainer.  
  
"Yes I do," Sarah persisted.  
  
"You know those stupid cooking classes Andrea's mentor professor teaches?" Lily began, stuffing the strainer back into the box and rummaging beneath to yank out a ladle. "Well, she signed me up to teach some during the next couple of months."  
  
"What? I mean, I know you're good at cooking, but teaching?" Sarah said incredously. "You sure you can handle that?"  
  
"Hmph. Do I have a choice?" Lily muttered. "Andrea wouldn't get off my case. She said that if she had to do it, she'd rather have me there than some other trainee professor that she hates. Why she has to become a teacher anyway...and it's only for about three months...every second day...Omigod, I can't believe I'm doing this!"  
  
Sarah grinned.  
  
"I thought you were working any way- didn't you get that job at the Daily Prophet? You were really excited, what happened?"  
  
"I realized I don't want work there after all," Lily groaned. She rested her head in her hands. "I liked it better at The Word of Mouth magazine. And I think I want to write essays for the university. I think I just need to take a break and figure out what to do."  
  
Sarah nodded sympathetically. She herself was an established nurse at St Mungo's, and was steadily studying to become a surgeon.  
  
"You know," Lily said, looking up. "I thought I had life all planned out when I left Hogwarts. I would get an apartment with James, I'd write for the local newspaper, and plan out my brilliant novel, and he would earn money with his superstar Quidditch skills, and everything would turn out great. How the hell was I supposed to know that he'd want to run away and become an Auror?" she shook her head ruefully.  
  
"Hey," Sarah said, touching her shoulder. "I guess you two headed in different directions. But look, you're not that bad off- you still have us, and you are a sought after journalist. I mean, the novel might take some time, but apart from that, you're on track, right? Maybe a break is exactly what you need. And besides, it'll be funny to watch Andrea struggling with annoying students- I don't' know what she'll do when she's teaching kids!"  
  
"hey, do you want to come along? You know, keep me company? Please?!" Lily implored, suddenly. "It'll be fun!"  
  
Sarah raised an eyebrow, but then considered. She was on holiday at the moment, with only three shifts a weeks. What harm could a few nights a week do?  
  
"Just how long are these classes?" she asked, skeptically.  
  
"They go for two hours a night, but you don't have to come every time if you don't want," Lily added quickly.  
  
"Yeah, ok," Sarah agreed easily. "It'll be amusing."  
  
"I haven't told you the worst part yet," Lily grimaced. "It's and all boys cooking class."  
  
"You know," Sirius said, as they turned into their street, "Andrea takes some cooking classes she has to because they make trainee professors do work experience. And she even takes a muggle class. Maybe you'll get her as a teacher."  
  
"Well, it'd be better than a stranger...but then again, I don't know, I don't think she likes me much after the Lily-thing, you know," James sighed heavily.  
  
"Yeah well," Sirius shrugged. "She seems to like Moony well enough. I wonder what he has to do for his work experience. Who would've though that Remus would want to be a professor?"  
  
"He suits it- he's good with kids," James muttered, as they finally reached they're block of flats.  
  
James, Sirius and Remus shared a flat together, ever since James and Sirius had finished level 2 Auror training, which required them to live on the Auror campus. Peter had stayed with them for a time, but had soon left with his family to settle further away, in Bolton. Still, it wasn't too far away, and the Marauders were reunited on a regular basis.  
  
James pushed the key into the lock, and shoved the door open. The flat was big enough, but not too big at all. It had two bedrooms, so the guys took turns sleeping on the couch. It was Sirius' turn that night, so his pillow was already on the coffee table.  
  
"Moony's probably sleeping- it's only a few weeks away from the full moon," James whispered. He shuffled to one of the doors leading off the main room. "Yep."  
  
Remus was sprawled on his bed, pale from his weakness, as the days drew closer to yet another transformation. Remus had grown to look like a leaner, more angular version of himself at the age of seventeen. His blonde hair sometimes almost looked grey now, but generally, he was still the same, gentle, calm Moony.  
  
James silently shut the door and shuffled back into the combined living room and kitchen. Remus had obviously been at work, because all the dishes had been washed and neatly stacked, and the quilts used for the person sleeping on the couch were folded on their sole armchair.  
  
"You are going to come with me, aren't you?' James asked Sirius, grabbing an apple form the fridge (a/n: who the hell keeps apples in the fridge??).  
  
"Come with you where?" Sirius said. He grabbed a Quidditch magazine off the table and leant back to flip through it.  
  
"To these cooking classes," James said, trying to appear nonchalant, but betraying himself by tightening his grip on the apple. "I mean, you wouldn't let a mate go into unknown territory alone, would you?"  
  
Sirius snorted.  
  
"uh, yes I would," he contradicted. "It's an eat or be eaten thing, Prongs. There's no way I'm entering that classroom, no matter how much you need me."  
  
"Oh come on," James pleaded. "Remember that time I did extra Potions classes with you, even though I didn't have to? I gave up four hours a weeks, just to keep you company, because you wanted me to!"  
  
Sirius paused for a second in his reading. He considered silently, and then sighed.  
  
"Ok, ok, I'll come to the stupid cooking classes with you," he conceded, rolling his eyes. "Besides, how bad could it possibly be?"  
  
A/N: well, I think you can all see just where this is going, but I think it'll be pretty funny...I hope...well, I guess only you lot can tell me that, so you'd all better review!!! So, was this at all how you expected the sequel to be? I feel a little odd writing about them as adults, coz they're so different in a way. I have to make them all the more...mature. Well, hopefully this fic works out, the idea has been swimming around in my head for a while now, so let's just see where it goes form here! Say...15 reviews? You all have to let me know what you think, you know! So, review quickly, and you'll get the next chapter quickly!  
  
Jaizar 


	2. Reunited

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except fro characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.  
  
A/N: hey all! Well, here's the next chapter of this humble fic. Hope you all like it. A couple of people said that they'd like flashbacks of when the girls shared a dorm with the boys. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't think that'll happen. But we'll see. I will explain what happened with that, so keep reading! Um, a few people said that I need to separate the bit with Lily and Sarah talking more from the bit with Sirius and James- well, I did, but maybe it stuffed up when I uploaded the chapter. I'll look into it. So, on with the fic we go. Have fun reading, and make sure to REVIEW!  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Reunited  
  
"This is stupid," muttered James Potter, glaring around and shuffling his feet to keep them warm.  
  
"Oh shut up," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. He winked at a passing girl and was rewarded with a huge smile. It paid to be good looking.  
  
It was a cool evening, and their breath came out in little puffs of mist. They were standing outside a widespread building, which stood to the side of a fairly busy street. Muggles students for the class were everywhere, and James felt a little edgy for some reason. He had stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his grey and blue zip-up jumper, and his jeans were only just keeping his legs warm. There was a strange feeling in his stomach, and he felt some sort foreboding about the class to come.  
  
Sirius, on the other hand, was leaning against the outer wall of the building nonchalantly, dressed in his usual black theme. He seemed unaffected by the cold, and he was only wearing a black shirt and jeans. His hair was falling into his eyes, and James envied his way of looking so in place no matter where he was.  
  
James shoved his glasses up his nose and sighed. Stupid auror training. He was almost ready to turn back down the street and apparate home, when the huge double doors opened, and light spilled into the street. A busy woman stood in the doorway and beckoned to them all quickly. From around her, James could see a huge hall, with about six little kitchens crammed in, and a blackboard at the front.  
  
"Come in, all of you," she said briskly, as the twenty or so students filed in past her. As James and Sirius passed, she flashed them a smile and muttered: "You'll be the wizards then."  
  
James frowned- how had she known? Were they that obvious?  
  
He turned to mention it to Sirius, but found that he was gone. He rolled his eyes and frowned. Where was he? Then he spotted him, talking to a girl (typically) who was standing behind a couple of trestle tables that she was loading with bowls of ingredients.  
  
As he got closer, James' frown deepened. The girl looked familiar in a vague way. Her black hair and blue eyes hit something in his memory, and he stopped walking for a minute to consider.  
  
"Sarah, did you see where I put the-" came a voice.  
  
James' head snapped up. He knew that voice.  
  
A girl stood there, staring at him. Her wild red hair was restrained with a hair tie, and she was dressed in an apron over her jeans and top. Her green eyes were filled with shock. He knew her. Something in James throat caught, and he blinked furiously to hold back tears.  
  
"James?" she said, still looking at him uncomprehendingly.  
  
When was the last time he had heard her say that word?  
  
Flashback  
  
"James?"  
  
He looked down. The music rippled around him like silk when someone shook it, filling his mind, and capturing his heart. She looked so beautiful. It wasn't going to make this any easier.  
  
He smiled at her and she shook her head slightly. Then she pulled his arms further around her waist, and swayed gently.  
  
The Great Hall was decorated well for the occasion, the Graduation Ball at last. It was the Head students dance, and although he could feel everyone eyes on him, James didn't care, because there was only one person he cared about then. And soon he was going to break her heart.  
  
Slowly, other people joined them on the dance floor. And Lily started talking to him. About their apartment, about her job, about what they would do tomorrow, about their future together.  
  
"If only you would decide what you want to do," she said, rolling her eyes, but grinning at the same time. She knew he would decide in his own time. Little did she know that he had decided already.  
  
"Uh, about that..." James began. She looked at him and he knew he had her entire attention. "I-I decided what I want to do...Lily, I...I want to be an auror. I know this is sudden, but...that's what I want to do. And I know it'll mean that we can't get an apartment together and all, and that's why I think...I think that maybe we-we shouldn't stay together. Because I'll barely ever see you, and...well...I just think that that would be more than we could get through..."  
  
He looked at her helplessly. She had gone stiff in his arms. Btu it was the tear running down her cheek that broke his heart.  
  
End flashback  
  
She was standing in front of him. The one person he had longed to see yet hadn't seen for almost three years now...he could hardly believe it.  
  
"H-Hi?" he suggested. She raised an eyebrow, and then shook her head. Her face was a riddle of hurt, anger, shock and disgust.  
  
She hadn't looked at him like that since fifth year. He wasn't sure how to take it.  
  
She turned away and started walking over to the tables where Sarah stood.  
  
It wasn't her walking away that hurt him. But when she smiled and talked to Sirius, he thought his heart would break in two. Lily Evans, the girl he had fought to win, and had chose to lose. Now he thought it was a meager reward, to be an auror when the woman you loved couldn't stand being around you.  
  
He sighed and turned towards the door. There was now way he could stay here when she was standing there. He would just have to tell Gragerson that he couldn't complete the assignment.  
  
But just as he reached the door, Andrea Black came rushing through, clutching several pieces of paper, and a huge bag of silver utensils.  
  
"Hey James," she said brightly, as she strode past to dump the stuff onto one of the tables, and bump Sirius shoulder in greeting.  
  
James opened his mouth to reply, but then realized that she had already forgotten about him. He watched as Lily grinned again at Sirius, and Sarah knocked hips with him friendlily.  
  
He stood outside this circle of friends feeling hurt at the exclusion, but at the same time, knowing that he wouldn't have felt right even if he were included. It had never been the same with Andrea since he had broken up with Lily, and he had lost all contact with Sarah, Grace and Lisa.  
  
James sighed. He felt out of place. He longed to simply walk out the door and not come back. But he knew that he couldn't do that. He trudged over to where a group of guys who looked to be around his age clustered and stood with them, but to the edge of their little society. This was going to be a long night.  
  
Lily closed her eyes as soon as she reached Sarah's side, and leant against her shoulder.  
  
"Somebody, kill me right now," she muttered.  
  
Sarah frowned and moved so that she could look at her friend properly.  
  
"Hey, you don't mean that," she said, patting Lily on the arm. "I mean, I know it must suck to see him after all this time, but really, there's a bright side to everything. Think of all the unresolved stuff that lies around you both. Don't you want some answers?"  
  
She did. That was what scared her. As soon as she saw James, all the old feelings rushed back, held at bay only by the hurt she still felt.  
  
She groaned and slumped into a chair that was behind one of the tables.  
  
"Hey Lily,' someone said. She looked up to see Sirius smiling amiably at her.  
  
She sighed, but managed to scrounge up a smile from somewhere.  
  
"Hello," she said. "Long time no see, hey?"  
  
He grinned.  
  
"Yeah. We all know who to blame for that," he rolled his eyes in James direction. "But you know, he's not a bad guy. I'll leave it all to you to solve, but just remember, he really isn't a bad guy."  
  
Lily smiled wanly, but didn't reply.  
  
Just then, Andrea charged up and started talking. That was Andrea. She never greeted them, or made an introduction before launching into her speech. She just went for it as if they were continuing a conversation from earlier.  
  
"So, you can set up the ingredients, Sarah, and I think you should call the class to order Lily. I'll put the recipe up on that blackboard, and then we can talk them all through it. Hey little brother, what are you doing here? And I just saw James, is this some sort of prank? Why isn't Remus here?" she ended in a flurry of questions.  
  
Lily stood up, and walked to the front of the classroom, as Sarah finished laying out the bowls full of butter, sugar, flour and more.  
  
Andrea and Sirius were halfway through a conversation, when Andrea suddenly turned away to do something. Sirius, used to his sister's behavior, wandered back over to James, who threw him a glare, but didn't bother getting into the argument. Sirius shrugged, and turned to face where Lily stood in front of the blackboard at the front of the hall.  
  
Andrea was behind Lily, sticking up huge cardboard pieces with the recipe for plain butter scones scrawled on them.  
  
The busy woman from the doorway was standing with Lily, and she clapped her hands, bringing everyone's attention to her.  
  
"Hello, everyone, my name is Professor Marthers. This is Lily Evans, and she'll be your teacher tonight, and for the rest of the classes over the next few months. Also, if you need help, you can look to either Sarah," (she pointed to Sarah who waved,) "Or Andrea," (she pointed over her back at Andrea.) "Or, of course, me. Now, I'll hand over to Lily, who'll tell you what you'll be cooking this evening."  
  
She stepped back, and Lily came to stand in front of the class. She looked a little tense, and when she smiled nervously at the men milling around the room, James' heart leapt. How long had it been since he had seen her smile like that?  
  
"Well, I thought we'd start with something fairly easy tonight, as it's our first lesson together. Butter scones are a very easy food to make, and the recipe is up on the board. I'd like you to form into pairs, please, and can we have two pairs to a kitchen? You'll find that the cupboards are all labeled as to what's in them, and same with the draws. Ok, so, get to work. You might want to send one person down to get the ingredients. And don't forget to preheat the oven!" she instructed, as the men began to move off in little clusters.  
  
"Right little leader she makes, hey," Sirius murmured, smiling.  
  
James nodded.  
  
"Brings back memories...so, how are you about meeting her again?" Sirius continued.  
  
"I don't know," James said softly. "But I get the feeling she hates me. Maybe I should leave..."  
  
"Oh god James, be a man!" Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Stand up to this, and don't run away. You're going to have to confront her eventually. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Because even though you may not see it, I think you're still in love with her. So do this if you ever want to feel love again."  
  
James turned to face him, but he pushed past and walked over to the ingredient stand.  
  
James sighed and made his way over to a kitchen that only had one pair in it. One of the men was a little overweight and balding, and he wore thick- rimmed glasses.  
  
"My wife is making me do this," he grimaced, as James walked in. "She reckons we should all try new things. So she joined a footy team."  
  
James smiled, as he grabbed an apron and tied it on. (A/N: how cute would James look with an apron on??).  
  
The other man snorted a little. He looked to be about thirty, and was dressed in jeans, and a shirt that read 'Death before surrender'. His hair was brown and long, hanging in a tail down his back. He wore thick leather boots, and was putting a large mixing bowl on the bench top.  
  
"I'm only doing this because my missus kicked me out the other day. I dunno how to cook, so I figured so long as these classes are free, I might as well come along," he said nonchalantly.  
  
James nodded to this, and then hurriedly busied himself with pulling out the equipment he would need.  
  
Sirius came back with the ingredients, and soon they were mixing the dough.  
  
"You can do the kneading," Sirius grinned. "There is no way I'm sticking my hands in there!"  
  
James rolled his eyes, but stuffed his fingers into the mix and attempted to roll the mound of sticky dough around. The flour rubbed off onto his fingers, and soon, there was more dough on his hands than in the bowl.  
  
"Here you go guys, name tags," came a voice.  
  
James looked up from his 'kneading' to see Lily standing there, holding a strip of sticky labels. She seemed intent on ignoring him, but he couldn't help but watch her.  
  
"Owen?" she said, holding up a label with the name scrawled on it. The handwriting was unmistakably Lily's.  
  
The balding man stepped forward, and took the label in his free hand. He smiled briefly before turning back to wrestle his dough again.  
  
"And Dirk?" Lily continued. The other man accepted his label with a gruff 'thanks'.  
  
Sirius grinned as he stuck his label onto his shirt, and James knew a moment of awkwardness as he confronted Lily with his doughy hands and open mouth.  
  
"Uh..." he began, looking around helplessly. Sirius had turned pointedly to the oven and was reading the instruction carefully.  
  
"Here," Lily muttered, reaching up to press the label onto his shirt, just above his heart. Her being so close to him was unbearable, and he was almost unable to prevent a small noise coming out from the back of his throat when she accidentally brushed her fingers against his neck. She kept her eyes lowered the whole time, but that didn't stop his scent reaching her. He still wore the same cologne, she realized. She looked up briefly as she moved away, and was startled at the look in his eyes.  
  
He left you, she quickly reminded herself. He ran away from everything you had together. He means nothing. He's worthless.  
  
But somehow, her brain just couldn't convince her heart.  
  
A/N: aww! So sad! So, how was this? It was pretty long, I thought! Well, you'll see more Remus and Andrea in the next chapter, and maybe some more Sirius Sarah action...maybe...! And of course, Lily and James (duh!). I know I said I'd put this up after fifteen reviews, and I know I'm slack, but the thing is, it's taking me a while to come up with ideas, so can we make it two more weeks before the next one? It might come out before that, but just so you know that it might take that long. That's the absolute longest time though, so, look for the chapter soon! I'm sorry there are not many flashbacks about the sharing with the boys and all, but I'm trying to break away. I will explain it though, so hang in there!  
  
Review, please!  
  
Jaizar. 


	3. Memories

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.  
  
A/N: heya! Thanks for the reviews, much much appreciated. Tell me, do you ppl like this one more or less than Changing Rooms? I'm interested to know! Someone said that they would have expected that Lily would dump James before James would dump Lily. But I guess time changes people, and James had to choose between his career and his girl. Tough decision, though I think it was even tougher on Lily! And I know that getting Sirius and Remus with two of Lily's close friends is lame, so we'll see what happens there...no promises! : P Ok, well, here goes with the next chapter. This fic isn't as easy to write as Changing Rooms...I wonder why?  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Memories  
  
"Why are we playing soccer?" a petulant, child voice asked.  
  
Remus Lupin sighed wearily.  
  
"Because it's fun. And you wanted to," he said. "We took a vote, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, but I wanted to play basketball, not soccer," the child insisted.  
  
"Well, I'm sorry, but we're playing soccer," Remus said firmly. "Go join a team, and then we can get started."  
  
It was a crisp morning, and mist still frosted the soccer field on which Remus was conducting his work experience. The worst thing about choosing to become a professor was that they made you try to teach in all sorts of circumstances. Muggles was one of them. And so were children. Remus had been lucky enough to score both in just one teaching job. He had been put to task teaching a group of twenty or so muggle boys, of the age of about nine, a sport each week. Today, he was attempting to make them play soccer.  
  
"Hey!" he called as one boy grabbed the ball and danced out of reach of his fellows. "Come back- we haven't started playing yet!"  
  
The boy wiggled his tongue at Remus and then ran towards the other end of the field, with the rest of the clan chasing.  
  
Remus watched for a second and then slumped down in the grass in defeat. He drew his knees up to his face and rested his head on them resignedly. This was so, so stupid. He was never going to have children.  
  
"Looking little glum today, Mr Lupin," came a teasing voice.  
  
He looked up to see Andrea Black standing over him.  
  
"Kids giving you a hard time?" she asked sympathetically.  
  
"You could say that," he said, smiling wearily. "What are you doing up so early?"  
  
"I was jogging," she said, indicating her running clothes and drink bottle. "I always come around this way. Where have you been lately? I haven't seen you around at all!"  
  
"Oh, I've been pretty busy with his teaching thing," Remus said airily. "You don't come to the Young Teacher workshops anymore!"  
  
"Nah, I got put into a different class," Andrea grimaced. She sat down on the grass next to him, and for a moment they were silent, watching the kids chasing each other around, and throwing the soccer ball at passer-bys.  
  
"I heard you're teaching James and Sirius how to cook," Remus remarked, turning to grin at her. "That should be fun."  
  
"Disastrous is more to the point," Andrea said, rolling her eyes. "James and Sirius in a kitchen! And the worst thing is, lily's there too. She didn't look James in the face once!"  
  
"Yeah," Remus sighed. "Sirius was telling me. I hope those two work things out soon, it'd be a shame if they fell apart when they've got a chance to patch things up."  
  
"Yeah," Andrea agreed. "Hey, why didn't you come along? I could have taught you a thing or two about cooking!"  
  
Remus grinned.  
  
"Sorry, I have a class that evening. All about teaching kids," he looked over to where his class were running riot. "Not that it seems to have worked much for me, hey."  
  
Andrea smiled at him. Remus had grown to be a handsome young man, and today, clad in jeans and a t-shirt, wearing a small smile at the corner of his lips, he looked...beautiful.  
  
"Come on," she said, getting up and offering him a hand. "Let's get these kids of your under control."  
  
Lily pushed a trolley around the supermarket, trudging along with no enthusiasm. She hated grocery shopping. Stopping at a stand of bread, she dumped two loaves into the trolley and the trudged on, not even bothering to check the price.  
  
The fact was, her mind was still dwelling on her meeting with James Potter the other night. Why did this have to happen? She was fine pretending that he didn't exist, and then he came along and reminded her just how much she loved him. What was she meant to do? She couldn't back out of the classes after promising to do them, but how could she go every second night, knowing that he would be there?  
  
She would just have to grit her teeth and do it, she decided firmly, squaring her shoulders. She would show him and that she didn't need him anyway!  
  
"Yeah!" she said out loud. "I'll show him!"  
  
And, ignoring the several strange looks she received, she hurried to finish her shopping. She had cooking to teach!  
  
"Come on," Sirius said, standing over James' bed. "Sarah said that we could go to her house today."  
  
James groaned and turned over. It was only 11:00 in the morning, and Sirius was already energetic enough for the both of them.  
  
"Leave me alone," he mumbled. "Go see your girlfriend alone."  
  
"She's not my girlfriend," Sirius corrected, rolling his eyes. "And if you're not ready to go in the next five minutes, I won't come to any more cooking classes with you.  
  
Ten minutes later, they both stood outside Sarah's apartment, James looking a little disgruntled. How did Sirius always manage to get him to do exactly as he was told?  
  
The door suddenly swung pen, to reveal a tired looking girl, her dark brown hair hanging loose around her face, and her green eyes regarding them suspiciously.  
  
"Age hasn't done much for you," she remarked, turning and striding away.  
  
"Morning, Grace," Sirius smiled back disarmingly. "Is Sarah in?"  
  
"Yeah," came her call. Sirius strode in, followed by a more cautious James.  
  
The girls' apartment was immaculately clean, as compared to the Marauders den. There was not a sock lying around, and the closest thing to mess was the stack of magazines that towered on the coffee table, threatening to fall at any moment.  
  
It even smelled good.  
  
Sarah was in the kitchen, dressed in a pair of tracksuit pants and a top. Her black hair was tied back with a band. Sirius grinned his greeting, seating himself at the tiny table comfortably.  
  
"That'll be one coffee with two sugar and cream...actually, no cream. I'm on a diet," he ordered, receiving a raised eyebrow and a 'you-wish' look from Sarah.  
  
"Hi James," she said, smiling at him where he stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Come and sit down. Would you like tea or coffee?"  
  
"Uh, I'm ok," James said uncertainly, but Sarah made him coffee anyway.  
  
And so they sat, with Sirius and Sarah chatting amiably, James rather uncomfortably sipping his coffee and Grace ignoring the boys completely.  
  
Just when Sarah was starting to talk about lunch, the doorbell rang.  
  
"Oh, uh, will you get that please James?" Sarah asked, trying to hold several pans and plates at once.  
  
"Yeah, sure," James said, glad to get away from the air of comfortable friendship. It didn't seem right.  
  
He stumbled to the door and managed to open it- only to see a ruffled looking Lily Evans standing there, clutching at several bags of groceries.  
  
Her eyes went wide, and she gaped at him for a couple of seconds before pulling herself together.  
  
"Uh-"she started.  
  
"Let me help," he said quickly, grabbing some of the bags and practically fleeing back to the kitchen with them.  
  
"Th-thanks,' Lily managed. She stumbled behind him, entering the kitchen with her face flaming and the bags almost slipping out of her grip.  
  
James had placed the bags on the ground and was standing, ready to leave, waiting as Sirius said his goodbyes.  
  
He was carefully avoiding everyone's eyes, and Lily took his examples. Never in her wildest dreams would she have ever imagined that she and James would be awkward around each other.  
  
Finally, after kissing Sarah on both cheeks, which she took with a roll of her eyes, Sirius grinned at Lily and strode towards the door, James almost running in front of him.  
  
The sound of the door slamming behind them was the most welcome sound Lily had ever heard.  
  
She slumped into a chair and sighed, lowering her head into her hands. Sarah was busy making lunch, and grace had returned to her book.  
  
"He's still pretty good looking, isn't he," Grace remarked, flicking a page. "James I mean. And Sirius is too, but that's obvious."  
  
"Yeah..." Lily said faintly.  
  
It seemed as if James Potter had returned to her life full swing, and Sirius and Sarah were going to make sure it stayed that way.  
  
That was it, Lily decided. If he had to be there, she was going to face up to him once and for all.  
  
The only thing now, was how?  
  
A/N: yes, yes, I know it's a crap ending to a crap chapter, but I wanted to get this out soon. This fic is impossible to write! But I'm trying, so please review and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Long reviews would be the most welcome, so indulge and let me know exactly what you think. And I know I have heaps of typos, but you'll have to excuse me on that. You all know I can't type! : P  
  
Luv, Jaizar 


	4. The First Step is Acceptance

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.  
  
A/N: hello again Hmm, it seems the enthusiasm for this fic is a lot less than for Changing Rooms, a pity indeed! Come on guys, I need support, and encouragement, because personally, I don't like this fic much either! So review as much as possible, and write me long ones so I know what you want to read!  
  
Chapter Four  
  
The First Step is accepting  
  
"I can't go," James stated, looking up at Sirius form where he sat on the couch in their living room.  
  
Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. He was dressed in his Auror uniform, as was James, as they had only just got off training. He glanced down at his watch. They were meant to be at the cooking class in ten minutes.  
  
"James, stop being a child," he said wearily. "And get up and be a man instead."  
  
"Are you guys ready?" came Remus' voice from the bedroom. He was going to accompany James and Sirius this time, as Andrea had made him promise to, after she had helped him with his morning classes.  
  
"James is being difficult," Sirius called back, and glared at James. He scowled back.  
  
"Ah," Remus said, coming into the lounge. He was dressed in black pants and a top, his hair hanging into his eyes. "James, there's no point trying to run away from this. It'll only get worse each day you try to ignore it."  
  
"I don't want to hurt Lily," James said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.  
  
"Then you shouldn't have broken up with her in seventh year," Sirius said, rolling his eyes again. "Look, I think you just have to decide what you feel for her, and then move on form there. Like Moony said, there's no point ignoring it."  
  
James glowered at them, before dropping his head into his hands.  
  
"I know what I feel for her," he muttered. "That's the problem."  
  
"Why is that?" Sirius asked, tapping a foot impatiently. He had promised Sarah he'd be on time, and he had a bet going with Grace about who could make the better muffin. He was not going to miss this class.  
  
"I think I'm still in love with her," James admitted, raising his head. "I'm such an idiot."  
  
"Yeah, well, that's nothing new is it," Sirius grumbled. "God James, now you're going to have to court her all over again!"  
  
"Yeah, well, how hard can it be?" James said, trying to reassure himself.  
  
The fact was, as soon as he had seen Lily again, he had known that eh still loved her. And there was no way he could forget that. If he had to start all over again to win her over, he would just have to grit his teeth and do it, because all of a sudden he knew that he wanted her more than anything else in the world.  
  
"Start small," Remus suggested. "And don't try too hard to start off with. I think she's going to need to cool down a little before she'll listen to reason. And even then take it slow, and win her over gently. You don't want your little flower to wilt before she even blooms, do you?"  
  
"Yeah,' James said vaguely. He was already coming up with ideas. Maybe he would have to start that night even. "Give me a second, I'll just grab my jumper." He got up and ran quickly into the bedroom, where they shared the few cupboards.  
  
"Finally," Sirius muttered, as with a pop, he apparated, without waiting for James. Hey- how long could it take for him to apparate anyway?  
  
Lily smiled at each student as they walked into the kitchens, and she even managed to keep the smile in place when James Potter walked through the door. It was the returning smile she received that shocked her into frowning briefly before resuming her fixed expression.  
  
James looked a little dismayed at that, but managed to stay cool, and wandered off with Sirius to talk to Sarah and Grace.  
  
Remus was chatting amiably with Owen, James and Sirius' cooking partner from the week before when Andrea came and commandeered him to help set up the ingredients for what they were making that night- simple pancakes. Most of the guy's attempts at scones had turned out ok the last lesson, but Lily and Professor Marthers still wanted to take things slowly.  
  
James stood awkwardly while Sirius and Sarah chatted- or, to be more exact, Sarah talked while Sirius watched her, grinning silently, and glancing her up and down at intervals.  
  
James shook his head slightly. Sirius was more than obvious sometimes.  
  
Lily was watching from the other side of the room. James looked so damn good it was unnerving. She didn't like the way it made her feel.  
  
"Lily?" Marthers said, coming up behind her. "Ready to get started?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, of course," Lily said, flustered.  
  
In less than ten minutes, the men were all busy stirring up pancake mixtures.  
  
Lily paced up and down the kitchens, offering help and advice her and there, and had almost completed her circuits for the third time when she realized that she had been bypassing the cubicle in which James worked with Sirius and Owen and Dirk.  
  
Sighing, she forced herself to walk right up to him and watch as he struggled with the mixture, which was much more cloggy than needed.  
  
He looked up to see her watching him and immediately turned red. He snapped his eyes back down and stirred furiously.  
  
"Try adding some milk," she suggested quietly before turning to inspect Owen and Dirk's mix, which was smooth and creamy, just as needed.  
  
It was then that disaster struck. James, carrying the bowl turned (bravely, he thought) to show lily and ask if it was correct. At the same time, Lily turned around, and Sirius, who was battling with the stove dials, swung an arm and accidentally shoved James forward. The mixture, now extremely runny, knocked out of James hands, flew in the small space between him and Lily and splattered all over her and the floor. Lily, still in the motion of stepping forward slipped on the now wet floor and slammed into James, who tumbled back, dragging her with him.  
  
They ended up, covered in pancake mix, lying with Lily half on top of James, and James staring wide eyed at Lily.  
  
Lily was caught between an urge to scream and an urge to laugh. Instead, she lowered her mouth and touched her tongue to the mixture running down the side of James' face.  
  
"Perfect," she breathed. Then, as if remembering once again that she 'didn't' like James any more, she quickly got to her feet and offered him a hand.  
  
He was still gazing at her in shock, so she looked away awkwardly and then walked away quickly towards the bathroom.  
  
Sirius, who had been watching the whole exchange smiled slightly, pulling James to his feet.  
  
"Go wash that off," he suggested.  
  
James nodded, still dazed and tottered off towards the male restrooms. On the way he stumbled past Remus who shook his head in amusement.  
  
"I knew putting James in a kitchen would be a bad idea," he confided to Andrea, making her grin.  
  
"I'm sure you wouldn't be much better," she scoffed.  
  
"Hey, I can out cook you any day," he said, challengingly.  
  
"We'll see," she said. "Come around to our house this weekend, and put your money where your mouth is."  
  
"Oh, I will," he promised, grinning.  
  
Lily was, in a word, mortified. How often had she counseled herself not to fall back in love with James Potter? Wasn't it just that morning that she had decided to treat him completely indifferently? And then she goes and licks his cheek for gods sake! What was happening to her?  
  
Trudging over to where her bag lay next to the head table, she dug inside for a tissue. Suddenly, her finger brushed against a piece of paper. She pulled it out, frowning.  
  
"How did that get there?" she muttered, unfolding it. A rush of Lily scent came pouring out of the paper. She breathed it in- how long had it been since she had smelt her own flower?  
  
She unfolded the paper carefully. Her frown deepened as she read its contents.  
  
'Ek het jou lief.  
  
Your admirer'.  
  
"What...?" Lily raised her eyebrows. It was the weirdest letter she had ever received.  
  
What did it mean?  
  
A/N: ah- the plot thickens! Well, don't worry, you'll find out what the letter means eventually. Please review me; I'll put the next chapter up after fifteen reviews (if I've finished it by then)! So, nice LONG reviews, not one or two words! Let me know what you think, any improvements necessary? Oh hey- get this! I won third place in a dressage competition yesterday. I'm so proud! So anyway, enough of that, review and make me happy! Jaizar 


	5. Cake Competitions

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.  
  
A/N: well, hello again. Thankyou all for the reviews, and I hope you like this chapter. Any idea what that mysterious message might have meant? Have a guess; it's not too hard to figure out! One clue- it's not a code.  
  
NOTE: just to clarify, Lily, Grace and Sarah share an apartment, but Andrea lives with her parents for now. Remus, Sirius and James share an apartment, and Peter is away, though never fear, he'll be back. Also, please remember that this is pre-OoTP- as in, I'm not abiding by the new info we found out about Sirius' family.  
  
Ok, on with the fic, I'll try t spice things up in this chapter.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Cake Competitions  
  
"You are coming, right?" Remus asked, turning to look at his friends from where he stood in their tiny kitchen. "I mean, you're not going to strand me when I need support?"  
  
Remus was finally going to show Andrea that eh was twice the cook she was. He had agreed to go to her house and bake a cake right under her nose, so that she could see first hand his cooking prowess.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes, and looked up from the catalogue he was flipping through. "Of course we'll come, Moony," he said. "Oh god, look at this- they're trying to imitate my flying motorbike. So immature."  
  
Sirius' motorbike was currently in a dingy garage at his parent's house. He had to start using it again, or it'd go completely broken down.  
  
"James?" Remus prompted. He dusted his floury hands, and wiped the bench top idly. "You're coming, right?"  
  
James groaned, lifting his head from where he was lying on the couch.  
  
"Do I have to? Lily'll be there!" he whined.  
  
"Oh, stop being such a wimp," Sirius suggested. "Come on, we can get my bike back at the same time."  
  
Remus smiled. He was pretty certain that Andrea was a better cook than him. Still, it wasn't like him to resist a challenge. Thinking about that girl made him shake his head fondly. His affection for her had only grown since he had met her at those classes. Every morning, she had been coming and helping him with his unruly sports children. He definitely needed the help. Those kids were crazy!  
  
James sighed, and dragged himself into an upright position.  
  
"Ugh. Fine," he grumbled. "Just give me a second. I can't go in this." He indicated his rumpled jeans and faded t-shirt.  
  
Sirius grinned.  
  
"Yeah- got to impress the girls, right?" this earned him a dirty glare form James, who then stumbled off into the room to return five minutes later dressed in a pair of cargos and a black shirt.  
  
"Here," he said, throwing Remus a shirt. "Thought you might want to change from that flour rag."  
  
Remus smiled his thanks, dragging his shirt over his head. Once he had replaced it, he nodded to his friends, and then apparated away.  
  
James followed suit. And Sirius, though he still rolled his eyes a little at the immaturity of the whole contest, apparated from where he was sitting.  
  
Lily had always loved the Black's house. Mrs Black was an immaculate cleaner, but she still managed to retain that family feeling a house should have.  
  
At that moment, she was slumped in a chair at their dining table, watching while Andrea prepared for the boy's visit. Lily had resigned herself to her fate- there was no way she could ignore James any more, so she would just have to give up and spend time around him.  
  
"You do know that this is insanely competitive," Sarah remarked, walking into the kitchen form the lounge. She picked up an apple form the fruit bowl and bit into it. At that moment, the three boys apparated into the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah, yeah,' Andrea sighed. "Hey guys. Ready for me to put you in your place?" she grinned at Remus, who rolled his eyes, but smiled.  
  
"You wish," he said, coming over to stand beside her, behind he bench.  
  
James seated himself uncomfortably next to Lily at the table, and they spent the next few moment carefully avoiding each other's eyes, and failing miserably.  
  
Sirius was avidly watching Sarah eat the apple.  
  
"Want some?" she offered finally, holding out the apple.  
  
"Sure," he said, leaning forward and tilting his head.  
  
"I meant the apple, stupid," she said, amusement in her voice. She pushed him away lightly.  
  
Grace wandered in and sat down on the other side of James. She pushed her knees up and rested her hands on them.  
  
"So, when are you going to start?" she asked.  
  
The bench was laid out with the ingredients needed o make a basic cake, and after ten minutes, during which there were about three flour fights, two spills and a couple of embarrassing moments for Lily (such as when she reached across the table to get a spoon lying there and accidentally grabbed James' hand).  
  
After the cooking was done, they walked outside and slumped on the grass, with Remus and Andrea bantering friendlily about whose cake was better, and Sirius lying down with his head in Sarah's lap. She played idly with his hair, while Grace tuned a small radio to the WWN (is that right? I don't' have my HP books with me to check!).  
  
Lily and James once more engaged in that cute little game where one looked at the other and then looked away quickly when they were caught at it.  
  
It was becoming a very pleasant afternoon.  
  
James wracked his brains for something to say. There was no way he could let this charade continue.  
  
"I never wanted to leave you, you know," he said suddenly. Lily turned to stare at him. "I just didn't think it would work."  
  
"You never asked me, though, did you? How could you just assume that I wouldn't want to stay with you because you wanted to pursue a dream?" Lily accused softly, turning away again.  
  
"I...I didn't think...I just didn't consider that. I wanted the best for you," he said helplessly.  
  
"Yet, you never thought that I would know what was the best for me. James, you don't have to take everyone's problems onto your own shoulders," Lily said tiredly. "Some of us do know how to fend for ourselves."  
  
James turned to look at her.  
  
At that moment, Andrea got to her feet.  
  
"Better check how these cakes are going, hey," she said, offering a hand to Remus.  
  
They disappeared into the kitchen, and Lily got up to follow them. James sighed. He seemed to be incapable of saying the right thing.  
  
"Life's tough, isn't it?" Grace said. She turned off the radio, and stood up.  
  
"Yeah," James conceded. "Yeah, it is."  
  
Sirius and Sarah had already wandered off inside as well. James got up reluctantly and entered the kitchen. The smell of fresh baking ad filled the house.  
  
The sad thing was both the cakes were identical.  
  
"I think we should taste test," Sirius said. "I'll have slice of both.  
  
Sarah turned and rolled her eyes at him.  
  
Lily watched them form the table. Idly, she pulled her bag towards her and rummaged inside for a second, trying got find her notebook so she could get the recipe of the cake for her next class. Instead, her fingers picked up a small piece of cardboard.  
  
She pulled it out and read it in a glance-  
  
'Ohhe-buk  
  
Your Admirer'  
  
Lily closed her eyes and counted to ten. She would get to the bottom of this.  
  
She looked up to see James watching her. It was time to make a peace offering.  
  
"Do you want to try Remus' or Andrea's?" she asked, letting a smile cross her face.  
  
His eyes lit up.  
  
"Uh...I'd better try Remus'. Loyalty, you know," he replied. She nodded, as she got up to cut the cakes. As she passed him, she squeezed his shoulder briefly.  
  
It was time they stopped behaving childishly.  
  
"I've missed your friendship,' she murmured.  
  
"Me too."  
  
The kitchen was filled with laughter, and Sirius' clowning, and Andrea's protesting that her cake was the best. But best of all, it was filled with a sense of whole. They were reunited now. It was time to let time take its course.  
  
A/N: so, another mysterious note! I wonder who it could be? My fingers are numbing from cold as I type this, so I'd better end, hey/ well, please review, and let me know what you want to happen form now on. And have go at cracking the code; I'd like to see what you think it says!  
  
Luv, Jaizar. 


	6. Lily's new Spouse

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.  
  
A/N: here we are, with a new chapter. Hopefully, you like it. Actually, I don't like this fic much. The inspiration just isn't there. So, I'll just potter along and hope I find it somewhere along the way, shall I? Continuing:  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Lily's new Spouse  
  
"These classes are actually growing kind of fun, hey?" Sarah remarked to Lily, as they set up the hall for yet another class.  
  
The students were progressing onto meat foods, and Lily was going to have them making 'scrummy mince on toast'. In other words, they were going to fry some mince, drown it in tomato sauce and then shove it on some bread.  
  
"Yeah," Lily said absently. James had just entered the hall, with Sirius trailing along behind him, chatting up some girl.  
  
"I thought this was an all boys class," Sarah muttered, standing beside Lily and glowering at Sirius.  
  
"It is," Andrea said, coming up behind them. "Have any of you seen Grace?"  
  
"She's scaring the teenagers," Lily said wearily, indicating where Grace sat, talking to some seventeen-year-old boys, who were all looking terrified to some degree.  
  
"Ah," Andrea said, starting off towards her. "I'm going to enroll her to help me with the recipe writing."  
  
Sarah was still glaring at Sirius, who was walking over, the girl still trailing behind him.  
  
"Hi guys," he said, cheerfully, leaning against the table at which Lily was working to measure mince. "How are we all?"  
  
"Hmph," Sarah snorted, turning away.  
  
Sirius frowned, and walked over to stand in front of her.  
  
"What?" he demanded. Sarah rolled her eyes and shrugged. Sirius persisted in trying to get her to tell him what made her so angry, but Sarah was not very helpful, and refused to talk to him for some strange reason.  
  
"Hi Lily," James said, smiling. He had finally overcome any doubts he had about their friendship, and had decided to face it all out.  
  
"Hey," she said, still trying to weigh the mince.  
  
The girl, who was a ginger haired, model type, wearing the same sort of blue uniform as James and Sirius was standing uncertainly behind James.  
  
"Oh, sorry," James said, turning to her. "Lily, this is Jess Williams. She's an auror. She's, uh, a little higher up than me, but ...yeah. She wanted to some along. I think she knows Professor Marthers, or something."  
  
"Yeah, I'm her niece," Jess said, smiling brightly. Lily smiled back and then concentrated on plonking the portioned meat into silver bowls.  
  
"There she is!' Jess said. "Aunt Margaret!"  
  
"Uh, want some help/" James offered, coming around to her side of the table.  
  
"Oh, yes please," Lily said, sighing in frustration. "The stupid scales aren't working, and I can't use magic."  
  
James grinned, taking the scales. He examined them closely for a few seconds, and then adjusted a knob and pushed a few buttons on the electric screen.  
  
"Try it now," he said, placing it back down.  
  
Lily placed some meat on it, checked the recipe and then expelled a whoosh of air in relief.  
  
"You're a life saver," she said, gratefully. "Thank you so much!"  
  
"S'ok," James said, unable to help turning red. He scratched absently at his neck, looking away.  
  
Lily looked at him, puzzled. He had changed so much from their younger days. She was finding it hard to believe.  
  
"So, you want to go get your equipment ready?" she suggested.  
  
"What?!" he said, alarmed. She raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Cooking equipment, James," she said, staring at him.  
  
"Oh. R-right. Ok," he turned and sped away. Lily shook her head. He was crazy.  
  
Sirius was in the kitchen already, fiddling with a flour shifter.  
  
"We don't need that," James said, taking it out of his hands and replacing it with a silver-mixing bowl.  
  
"Okey dokey," he said, putting he bowl on the bench top and bending to look in the cupboard.  
  
"I thought you were having a fight with Sarah."  
  
"Nah, I explained that me and Jess aren't going out. That's all she wanted to hear," Sirius said nonchalantly.  
  
James opened his mouth but then gave up. No one could understand Sirius and Sarah's relationship, so there was no point in trying to get information. His best friend could be pretty tight lipped when he wanted to be.  
  
Just then, Owen and Dirk ambled into the kitchen.  
  
"I'm telling you," Owen said, gesturing with his hands. "She's too young for you!"  
  
"Oh, you're just hyped up because you're old enough to be her father. Me, I'm still young," Dirk said dismissively. He rolled his shoulders, and then cracked each of his knuckles in turn. "She couldn't resist me."  
  
"Who's the lucky lady?" Sirius asked, grinning.  
  
"Oh, that red haired girl, the teacher, you know?"  
  
"Professor Marthers?" James suggested stupidly, knowing that professor Marthers had brown hair.  
  
"No, Lily Evans," Dirk said. "I know you probably think she's too young for me, but I'm only twenty-nine, alright?"  
  
"Y-yeah, right. That's nice," James said, standing still. Lily was going out with Dirk. What was happening?  
  
"I couldn't say no," Lily said, obviously repeating herself.  
  
"But, I thought you still liked James," Andrea said, following her around the kitchens.  
  
"So what? He doesn't like me. And Dirk was kind of...scary. It's only one date anyway. No big deal," she said, trying to reassure herself.  
  
Just then a racket sounded up the back of the classroom. Lily started to run towards the last kitchens, closely followed by Andrea.  
  
She reached the kitchen just in time to see James and Dirk grappling on the ground, with Sirius trying to restrain them and Owen huddled away, looking terrified.  
  
"James!" Lily said. "James!"  
  
He looked up briefly, but at that moment, dirk's fist connected with his jaw, and Sirius leapt into the fray, yelling- "you dirty bastard, come try me!"  
  
"James! Sirius! Stop it right now!" Andrea shrieked. All three men stopped rolling around. James had blood dripping from a gash on his cheek, and his jaw was already beginning to darken. Sirius, though wild eyed, had not been hurt, and Dirk had a bruised lip, and two teeth bleeding to show for his efforts.  
  
"Get to the front right now," Lily ordered, eyes blazing. "I don't care what this was about, but I never want to see anything like it ever again, hear me? That was the most disgusting display I've ever seen."  
  
Dirk sneered nastily at her.  
  
"Jealous, he was. Said I didn't deserve you, just because I complimented your body. Now I see it wasn't wroth my time. I'm leaving," he snarled.  
  
"Good riddance," Andrea muttered, lending Sirius her hand and pulling him to his feet.  
  
"James, come down the front. We have a first aid kit." Lily said quietly.  
  
James nodded and got up, touching a hand to his jaw gingerly. He swore under his breath, and followed Lily to the front desk.  
  
She sat him down on a chair and then stood in front of him, dabbing the blood away with a wad of tissue.  
  
"Nice," Grace commented, as she walked by.  
  
"You should see the other guy," James said, grinning slightly.  
  
"It wasn't funny, James," lily snapped, turning his head back to face her. "You could have gotten seriously injured."  
  
"But I didn't," he said. "Sand he deserved it. I can't believe you even thought of going out with him!"  
  
"Well," Lily said quietly. "I don't see any better options."  
  
James looked at her, wanting to say something, but not having the courage to speak up. She shook her head and put the first aid box away.  
  
"I think you'll be alright to cook." She turned and walked over to her coat.  
  
James sighed, touching her purse where it lay on the counter briefly.  
  
He got up and trudged back to the kitchens. So much for winning Lily' regard. He had just lost whatever friendship they had.  
  
Lily stared at the piece of paper she had just found in her purse, baffled.  
  
'Ngor oi ley Your Admirer'.  
  
What the hell?  
  
A/N: well, that was crud. Please review anyway! More Grace for you next chapter. And it's Sarah's birthday, and the Marauders are invited to the party. Will sparks fly, or will James and Lily mend their broken friendship? And who is Lily's secret admirer?  
  
Find out in the next chapter, that will only come if you review!  
  
Jaizar. 


	7. Apologies

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except characters and event unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.  
  
A/N: hello! Thankyou to everyone who reviewed! Nice thoughts on what the letters might be, and you all seem to think that maybe Sirius and Sarah are giving them to make Lily and James get together. I'll let you think on that. Sorry (as usual) about typos. It's my life story- mistake after mistake. Nonetheless, keep reading and reviewing. Makes my day. You know what I thought of? What if James and Sirius didn't know how to use stoves and stuff because they were muggle things? But then I decided that cooking is something in which muggles and wizards must hav virtually the same sort of thing, and Molly Weasley ahs used a stove before, so I guess it's ok.  
  
GriffindorGoddess28: nice to hear that you tried the shirt! Pity it didn't work, but seriously, retarded can look good. And I think you should try again!  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Apologizing  
  
"So you leapt on Dirk and tried to kill him?" Remus asked skeptically.  
  
"He was talking about Lily as if she was an object, not a person," James grated out, slamming a pot onto the stove and heating the water in it with his wand.  
  
"Ooh, dinner. What is it?" Sirius said, sniffing appreciatively as he entered the room. He had a towel slung over his shoulder, and he was shirtless, with a pair of jeans on.  
  
"Well, is it your place to be getting angry about it? You were the one who broke up with her," Remus pointed out, ignoring Sirius.  
  
"Pumpkin soup, if Remus would get off his arse and buy some bread rolls," James answered Sirius. "And, just because I broke up with her doesn't mean I stopped loving her."  
  
"Maybe you should tell her that," Remus suggested. "And I thought Sirius was getting the rolls."  
  
"Nah, you are," Sirius said, sitting down on the bench top, only to be shoved away by James, as he searched the drawers for a ladle.  
  
"Stupid spoons," James muttered. "I can't just tell her. We're only just getting to be friends again. And I don't think she likes me any more anyway."  
  
"What makes you say that?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Well...just something she said last cooking class," James said, turning away. He poured some orangey powder into the heated water.  
  
"Instant soups are such a cop out," Remus commented. "And I think that for once, you should make the first move in this. Overcome your fears!"  
  
"Be a man!" Sirius added. He dipped a finger into a bowl of something lying on the counter and licked it. He screwed his face up wryly. "What the hell is that?"  
  
THE GIRLS APARTMENT  
  
Sarah slumped onto a couch in the lounge room, ice cream in hand  
  
"You're not going out with dirk, are you?" she said, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Hell no," Lily sighed. "I wish I had never run into James again."  
  
"You don't mean that," Grace said firmly, from where she sat on the ground, reading a book.  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Lily said irritably. "It seems as if as soon as he walked back into my life, everything started going wrong again..."  
  
"But you seem to be more cheerful regardless," Grace observed. "Seems to me that being around him makes you even happier with life. Just a thought."  
  
"I think that you two should get together again," Sarah said, peeling the wrapper off the ice cream, and licking it experimentally.  
  
"No, I don't think it'll ever happen. Something just don't deserve sequels," Lily said decisively. "Most sequels suck anyway."  
  
"Not true. Heaps of sequels are even better than the first," Grace contradicted.  
  
"Like...?" Lily said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Can't think of any now, but there are some. I know it."  
  
THE BOY'S APARTMENT  
  
"I think maybe you should apologize," Sirius suggested. He propped his legs up on their tiny coffee table.  
  
"It always seems to come down to me apologizing," James grumbled. "Why?"  
  
"Because it's usually you who does something wrong," Remus pointed out. "Come on. It won't kill you."  
  
"And I think you should ask her out at the same time," Sirius added, flicking a long lock of hair out of his eyes. He fingered his hair speculatively. "Think I should get it cut again?"  
  
"Nah, you look cool with long hair," James said. "And I don't think I should ask her out. Firstly, I'm not even sure if I'm ready to, and secondly, she'll probably reject me like I'm a lowly species of worm or something."  
  
"Dude, stop being so dramatic," Sirius said, half grinning. "And just do it. Where went the James I used to know? The daring, arrogant James Lily knew and loved?"  
  
"He ran away. He said he was too scared to face up to some things," James said wryly. "Ok. I'll be a man."  
  
THE GIRL'S APARTMENT  
  
The doorbell rang. Lily raised her head tiredly off her arms. It was eleven o'clock in the morning, and the girls were strewn across the lounge rooms in various states of sleep. Sarah had had the great idea that they invest in the muggle appliance called a TV. Lily had called Andrea over, and the four girls had spent the night watching hopeless movies. The moving people in the little black box had amazed Andrea and Grace at first, but they had soon gotten used to it. All Lily could remember now was falling asleep sometime during 'Sleepless in Seattle'.  
  
"The door bell," Grace said groggily, rubbing slightly at her eyes, before dropping back into sleep.  
  
With a groan, Lily wrenched herself to her feet. She staggered out into the tiny corridor before the door, and yanked the door open.  
  
James Potter stood outside clutching a bouquet of daises and tulips, and a hopeful expression.  
  
"James?" Lily said incredously. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I, uh, came to say sorry. For fighting with Dirk. And uh...are you ok?" he broke off, squinting at her tired expression and ruffled flannelette nightie  
  
"I'm fine, just tired. We didn't get much sleep last night. Watching movies," Lily mumbled. She yawned a little, and then stood back. "Wanna come in?"  
  
James nodded and stepped in after her. Lily led the way to the kitchen, where Grace was sitting at the table. The other girls were still prone on the couch and floor of the lounge.  
  
"Hey, Potter," Grace said. Her hair was half tied back, and the dark circles under her eyes made her look even more tired than she felt.  
  
"Hi," James said.  
  
Lily was fiddling with the kettle, but not having much luck in her half asleep state. James hurried over and grabbed the teapot out of her hands.  
  
"Why don't you sit down," he suggested. "I'll do it."  
  
She nodded gratefully and slumped down at the table next to Grace.  
  
James poured water into he teapot, and heated it with his wand. Adding the tea herbs and milk, he contemplated on whether or not to ask Lily out. Well, he figured he had nothing much to lose. Apart from his dignity, he thought darkly. And Sirius would kill him if he didn't.  
  
Rummaging in the cupboards won him a packet of shortbread biscuits, and armed with these and the tea, James strode back to the table. He poured tea, set out biscuits, and then sat, hands folded in his lap and watched as Grace and Lily polished off half the packet of biscuits and the entire teapot.  
  
"Hmmm...heaven," Lily murmured, setting her cup back down. "Sorry James, I was so wiped out after last night. Uh, don't worry about the fight with Dirk. I mean...well, he probably deserved it. Um, you were saying something else...?"  
  
"Oh, uh, that...well, I was wandering if you'd, uh, like to come out to dinner with me. You know, as a 'sorry' present. Kind of..." James blurted. No point in holding back.  
  
"Sound kinda like a date to me," Grace said, half smiling.  
  
"Yeah, me too," Lily said, catching James' eyes. "I'd love to. Pick me up at six?"  
  
It took a few minutes for what Lily had said to sink in.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I will."  
  
A/N: I know I said I'd have a birthday party for Sarah in this chapter, but I decided to postpone that for a couple of chapters. So, please review this one, and hope you enjoyed it!  
  
Jaizar. 


	8. The NotSoFirst date

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except characters and events you can't recognize as being part of the Harry Potter series.  
  
A/N: Heya! Well, thanks for the reviews for that last chapter, much appreciated. You know how I said that there would be a birthday party for Sarah in the next few chapters? Well, let's just say that its been indefinitely postponed. This chapter is, as expected, Lily and James' 'first' date. Have fun! Sorry about not having enough 'Grace' for you guys, but I'll try to fit some more info about her in somewhere, though maybe not in this chapter. Uh, I think someone had some complaints, I can't remember what about any more, but let me just remind everyone that this is a FANFIC, so I'm not writing it like a novel. It's not going to perfect, because for me, it's a writing exercise, and I'm lucky I have you guys to help me out in refining my writing style. But please don't expect me to make this something that's worthy of being published, because then it wouldn't be fun for me to write!  
  
Also, I haven't put anything about Voldemort in, because I just can't write dark fics; so let's just keep this happy, shall we?  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
The Not-So-First Date  
  
James Potter eyed himself once again in the mirror, admiring his perfect jaw line, and gorgeous eyes. Man, was he hot or what? A tiny seed of doubt unfurled in his mind. Was he hot enough for Lily?  
  
He shook his head furiously, messing his hair up even more. It would be fine. She had said yes, right? That had to mean something.  
  
"James, are you ready? We're about to leave," came Remus' voice from the lounge. Sirius and Remus were dining at the girls that evening. Sarah had convinced them to watch some crazy muggle 'movie' and they had dubiously agreed. Andrea was coming over as well.  
  
"Yeah, coming," James called back. With one last look at the mirror, he had turned and strode quickly into the lounge.  
  
Sirius wolf whistled.  
  
"Nice," he grinned.  
  
James raised a hand self-consciously to his hair.  
  
"You think?"  
  
He was clad in loose black pants, and a metallic shined blue shirt, with a black jacket over the top.  
  
"You look fine, James," Remus said reassuringly. "Stop worrying about it."  
  
James nodded, trying not to frown in nervousness.  
  
"Ready?" Sirius asked, before, with a 'pop' he apparated.  
  
James and Remus followed him and the next minute, they stood in the girl's living room.  
  
Sarah, wearing black pants and a t-shirt, knelt in front of a big black box that James recognized as a TV. She was fiddling with some knobs on the front and then, with a white flash, the front of the box was suddenly filled with moving pictures and sounds.  
  
"Whoa!" Sirius breathed, dropping to his knees beside her. "That is so cool!"  
  
Remus smiled at seeing him reverting to his childhood speech.  
  
"Hey guys," Andrea called from the kitchen. "Would someone help me with the snacks?"  
  
"Yep," Remus said, walking around to the kitchen area and taking a bowl of dip from her hands. "Might I say how lovely you look?"  
  
"You might," she grinned, running a hand self-consciously over her jeans.  
  
"Lily's in her room," Sarah told James. "She's dressed, so you can go in there. It's the second door to the right off the hall."  
  
James smiled and nodded. The hall was dark, and it took him several moments before he finally remembered to use his wand for light.  
  
There was the faint sound of music coming from inside Lily's room, and he knocked quickly, trying to slow down his heart.  
  
"Come in," Lily called, and, running a hand once again through his hair, James entered.  
  
"Hi," he breathed. Then his words ran out.  
  
Lily looked great. She was wearing grey, pinstriped pants, hugging her hips and ending in a flare, and a pink turtleneck over the top. Her hair was loose around her face, and she had indulged in a little makeup, including eyeliner around her almond shaped eyes.  
  
"You look great," Lily said, grinning at him. "I love the shirt."  
  
James opened his mouth but couldn't come up with any words to describe how perfect she looked. Suddenly a gurgle of laughter erupted in his throat.  
  
"I half expected this to be like our first ever date," he said, grinning sheepishly.  
  
Lily smiled mischievously.  
  
"I still have that top- the one that says 'Boy Bands Must Die'. If you want, I can wear it!"  
  
James smiled, and reached out a hand, brushing her hair behind her ear.  
  
"I've never seen you more beautiful than this," he said, strangely un-James like. "You look perfect."  
  
Lily looked away, embarrassed.  
  
"You've changed James," she murmured. "You're not the cocky, confident boy you used to be. Now, you're... you're mature."  
  
James looked down.  
  
"You always said I was too cocky. But I guess I have changed. Haven't we all?"  
  
Lily smiled sadly.  
  
"Change is inevitable."  
  
James nodded slightly, just as the door opened, and Grace walked in.  
  
"Hey. You guys going soon?" she asked, nodding her greeting to James.  
  
"Yeah, just about to," Lily said, turning quickly and grabbing a bag off her bed. "Why?"  
  
"They don't want to start the movie until after you've gone, otherwise we'll have to pause to say goodbye," Grace explained. She followed them out of the room.  
  
Sirius, Remus and Sarah were sitting down around the TV, and Andrea was carrying a tray with mugs of hot chocolate over to them.  
  
"Leaving?" Sirius questioned, raising his head to see them.  
  
"Yeah,' James confirmed. "You guys have a good time."  
  
"We will," Andrea assured him. "And you too."  
  
Lily quickly made her goodbyes, and then she and James were finally ready to go. With one last smile at their friends, the two apparated to a busy muggle town square.  
  
James had decided to take Lily to a muggle restaurant, and he was beginning to feel a little dubious as to what her opinion might be. She was muggle born, of course, but that probably meant that she knew more about what the good restaurants were as compared to the shoddy ones.  
  
Lily however, was absolutely delighted.  
  
"I love this place!" she exclaimed. "I used to come here with Petunia before...well, before we grew up, I suppose."  
  
James smiled sadly at her, knowing how much Lily had loved her sister, and how much Petunia now hated Lily. It had hurt her a lot when they were still in Hogwarts, but she seemed to be coping with it now.  
  
"Shall we go in?" he said, offering her his arm. She smiled up at him, and took it in her hands.  
  
In side, the restaurant resembled dusk. It was lit only by candles, and soft music played in the background. But for this, it wasn't a particularly formal restaurant, so the people sitting at the tables weren't overly dressed up or anything. It had the cheerful air of polite comfort.  
  
That night became one of James' most fond memories. It was full of laughter, and soft cheerfulness, and occasionally, when Lily looked at him, he could sense a little love in the corner of her eyes. Love that he knew was his.  
  
As for Lily, she was suddenly reminded, all over again, just how much she loved James. When she watched him grin, and make jokes, and look at her as if she was the only woman alive, she just wanted to make him hers and only hers.  
  
By the end of the evening, they were both so enraptured with each other that they were feeling almost light headed.  
  
James walked Lily over to the counter to pay, and he pulled out his wallet.  
  
"That will be $67 dollars, sir," the lady behind the counter said, smiling at him.  
  
He unzipped his coin purse...and his heart dropped. Four sickles rolled around in the bottom of the pouch, and but for that, he had nothing. He had left his money at the flat. All the muggle money he had gotten changed from galleons. All sitting innocently on his bed!  
  
"Uh...Lily?" he said, biting his lip.  
  
"Yeah?' she said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I, uh, kinda...left my money...at home," he finished, shifting his feet nervously.  
  
Lily looked at him for a second. Then she grinned and broke into laughter.  
  
"How could I have ever thought that you changed?" she said, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "You're definitely the same, forgetful old James!" she pulled out her own purse and laid down two fifty-dollar notes on the counter.  
  
After the lady had given them her change, they walked outside. The moon had risen now, almost full. In two days, it would be Remus' changing time. A huge clock tower in the middle of the square told Lily that it was almost ten o'clock.  
  
She turned to see James gazing at her. She slipped her fingers between his and they walked for a time like that, aimlessly, just wandering the square in silence.  
  
"It feels like I stepped back in time," Lily finally remarked. "Back to when we used to walk around Hogsmeade like this."  
  
"No," James said quietly. "This is even more beautiful. You don't know how much I regretted breaking up with you."  
  
Lily sighed, and lifted her face to gaze at the stars.  
  
"Please," she whispered. "Let's not talk about that. Tonight...it's been so wonderful. I don't want to ruin it." She turned to look into his eyes. "Let me keep this as a perfect memory."  
  
"Not until I've said sorry," James said firmly, stopping and turning her around to face him. "Lily, I should've talked things through with you before letting you go. It was wrong of me to assume I knew best, when really, it's always been you who knows best, and me following your lead. I never give you the credit you deserve, but I think that if we hadn't started going out in Seventh year, I...I just don't know how I would have survived. For the past three years, it's been killing me that I haven't seen you. I...I never stopped loving you."  
  
Lily opened her mouth to say something, but then she realized- there was nothing to say. He had told her what she had longed to hear for three years.  
  
"Thankyou," she whispered, and he smiled.  
  
And that's how they began.  
  
Back at the girls' apartment, Sirius had started talking about their last year at Hogwarts.  
  
"That was really rotten of McGonagall to not let you guys stay in our room," he whined, shaking his head morosely.  
  
"I think she caught on that Lily and James were an item," Andrea said. She was sitting on the ground, leaning against the single seater sofa that Remus was sat in.  
  
Grace was sitting next to Sarah, who was leaning against Sirius on the three seater. The movie ('Miss Congeniality' to Sirius' delight) had finished half an hour ago, and they were waiting for Lily and James to return.  
  
"Those First year boys were pure evil, though," Sarah said, shuddering. Sirius pulled her closer to him, and she raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Yeah, well, I was disappointed that she didn't at least give us the sixth years- nooo, she had to give us stupid second years, didn't she! Man, those girls were annoying." Sirius sighed.  
  
Andrea nudged Remus a little, waking him up from his brief doze.  
  
"Are you tired?" she asked, tilting her head back.  
  
"No, I'll be ok," he smiled wanly.  
  
Grace looked around at her friends, and smiled slightly. Who would ever have thought, back in Hogwarts, that they would actually become friends with the boys that they had once hated. Now, she couldn't imagine what Sarah, Andrea and Lily would do with out them. As for herself, although she often gave of an air of 'not caring', all Grace wanted was for her friends to be happy.  
  
It seemed as if finally, they were.  
  
A/N: there'll be more on that later! So, please review this one, do you think I could get fifteen before I update? Sorry this took so long, I had visitors over all weekend, so I hardly got a chance to write. And sorry again for typos. You should all be pretty good at deciphering them by now!  
  
Please review,  
  
Jaizar 


	9. Sarah's Birthday Bash

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except characters and events you can't recognize as being part of the Harry Potter series.  
  
A/N: thankyou all sooooo much for the reviews! I was really touched by all the support, and I'm glad that you all liked it! And it's ok if you liked 'Changing Rooms' more than this one, because I do too! Still, this is turning out a bit better. I'll probably finish it in the next few chapters though. I know that I haven't developed this idea to its' full potential, but I guess this will just have to do. Hope you like this next chapter!  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Sarah's Birthday Bash  
  
"What do you mean it was Sarah's birthday yesterday?" Sirius exclaimed, his mouth hanging open. He slammed his hands down on the bench top in his parents' kitchen and glared at Andrea.  
  
"She didn't really want it to be a huge deal," Andrea said calmly. "I would have thought she'd tell you though."  
  
"Yeah,' Sirius agreed, frowning. "I would have thought so too."  
  
"Still, lily insisted on throwing a party for her, and you and the guys are all invited." Andrea, who was making tea, flicked her wand to vanish some teabags.  
  
"Good. Now what do I buy her?"  
  
IN LILY'S BEDROOM AT THE GIRL'S APARTMENT  
  
Lily stared at the note in front of her in frustration. It read: 'Ich liebe dich. Your admirer.'  
  
"What the hell?" she muttered, turning it over in her hands. This was beginning to annoy her. She didn't want some random who had a crush on her to come and ruin her relationship with James, which was going especially well at the moment.  
  
She got up, still clutching the note, and walked down the hall and into the lounge. Grace sat there, carefully plaiting some streamers, and ignoring Sarah, who seemed to be complaining that magic would be a lot quicker. Finally she looked up.  
  
"Look, if I want to pretend I'm a muggle, would you just let me be?" she glared.  
  
Sarah rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Instead, she slumped onto the couch and stared up at Lily.  
  
"What you got there?" she asked, nodding at the piece of paper.  
  
"Oh, another one of those anonymous notes," Lily sighed. She had told Sarah and Grace about the notes a while ago, after receiving the first one. "Have a look."  
  
"Hey...I know what this says," Sarah said, reading the note. "It means 'I Love you' in German."  
  
Lily sat bolt upright.  
  
"You're kidding?" she said, eyes wide. "Then maybe the other ones mean 'I love you' in different languages as well!"  
  
"Most likely," Grace said, tying a not in the streamers and standing up. "You should check in the library."  
  
"I think I will," Lily said, beginning to smile.  
  
THE NIGHT OF THE PARTY  
  
James and Remus stood in the hall outside the girl's apartment, waiting for Sirius to join them. He had been rummaging around the kitchen when they had apparated, and he still hadn't arrived.  
  
'Oh, come on, let's just go in," James said, tapping a foot impatiently on the ground.  
  
"You go," Remus said. "I think Sirius needs some moral support. He said he might ask Sarah out tonight."  
  
"Yeah, I know," James said, smiling a little. "I can't wait to see how that turns out."  
  
"I'm here!" Sirius suddenly apparated into the hall.  
  
With an amused glance at James, Remus knocked on the door. They could here sounds from inside, and after what sounded like scuffling and a short shout the door swung open. Sarah stood smiling at them, with Grace behind her, scowling.  
  
"Happy Birthday!" James said, giving Sarah a brief hug, and then walking into the apartment. Grace nodded sourly in greeting, and he grinned in return.  
  
Remus had followed him, but Sirius was still mumbling happy birthday to Sarah, who had an eyebrow raised and was smiling a little.  
  
Grace marched behind them, almost herding them into the kitchen, where the table was covered in platters of food. Lily and Andrea were bustling around, rearranging the plates, and placing more food into bowls.  
  
"Hey," Lily said, eyes lighting up at the sight of James. She quickly kissed him on the cheek, making his eyes snap wider. He hadn't realized that they were at that stage yet.  
  
"Uh, hi," he replied, looking a little wild.  
  
Andrea and Remus had slipped into easy conversation, and Grace saved James by launching into a tirade of complaints about Sarah not letting her greet the guests like they had planned, and how she refused to sit at the head of the table instead of on the couch.  
  
"Yeah, life's tough," he agreed, using a bit of Graces own sarcasm. She smiled at that, and turned away to help Andrea.  
  
LATER  
  
The night wore on, with laughter and jokes showering down on the friends. The cake was cut, and Sarah slipped from 19 to 20 smoothly. Later on, the friends, minus Sarah and Sirius who had disappeared, sat down in the lounge. For a few moments, everything was quiet. Then-  
  
"It seems strange doesn't it?" Lily said suddenly. She was leaning against James, who had his arm around her.  
  
"What?" James asked, tilting his head to look at her.  
  
"One graduation and three years later, we're all here, just like we were in Hogwarts," Lily explained. "I mean, sure, Peter's away, and Lisa left for America, but otherwise, things haven't changed much."  
  
"Actually," Remus said. "I would say that heaps of things have changed. Just for the better."  
  
Looking around at them all right then, James couldn't have agreed more. He looked up to see Sirius entering the room quietly, looking a little angry, and Sarah following, frowning. Sensing it was time to leave, James stood up, shifting around Lily.  
  
"Well, I think we had better go," he said, glancing at Remus, who gave him an answering nod. Sirius was already standing, a scowl on his face.  
  
Lily was looking at him calculatingly, so he half smiled, and then turned to say goodbye to Andrea.  
  
Five minutes later, the boys were back in their own apartment.  
  
"What happened?" James asked straight away.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. He looked away for a moment, and then sighed.  
  
"She said she likes me a lot too. And that's why she doesn't want to go out with me," he said shortly.  
  
James frowned.  
  
"That doesn't make sense," he pointed out.  
  
"Go figure," Sirius snapped, and he stormed away.  
  
"I guess I'll sleep on the couch then," Remus said mildly, although it was Sirius' turn again.  
  
FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE COOKING CLASSES  
  
Lily stared angrily at yet another note that she had found in her coat pocket. It had what looked to be Chinese or Japanese symbols written on it, and the same signature scrawled down the bottom.  
  
"Your admirer," she snorted. "Stupid creep..."  
  
The notes were really beginning to get on her nerves, and she was just about ready to write a reply note and leave it in her bag for the coward to find.  
  
She was passing the Marauder's kitchen, and she stopped to check how they were going. She had set the students to working on baking pies that lesson, and they seemed to be catching on pretty quickly.  
  
When she walked into the kitchen, James was bending down, searching for a pie dish, and Sirius was stirring the filling on the stove.  
  
Owen was standing next to her, and the new student who had replaced Dirk, a young man named Jack, was turning dials on the oven.  
  
"How are you all going?" she asked, putting her clipboard down on the bench top.  
  
"The fillings cooking well," Sirius commented. He peered into the saucepan, and then turned down the heat on the stove.  
  
"I can't find the pie dish," James muttered.  
  
Lily reached over to help him. Jack was standing near her folder, waiting for James to move so he could get something out of the cupboard. He glanced at the note that was lying on top of the folder.  
  
"Hey! Do you read Japanese?" he exclaimed, making Lily turn around.  
  
"Uh. No, actually- is that what it is?" Lily said, straightening up, and smiling in puzzlement.  
  
"Yeah. It says... 'I love you'," Jack said. He looked up, grinning. "Got an admirer do you?"  
  
Just then, James hit his head inside the cupboard and yelled.  
  
"Are you ok?" Lily said, bending down again to check.  
  
"Y-yeah," James nodded. He looked at the cupboard, rubbing his head. "I'm fine."  
  
Lily frowned a little, but nodded. As she left the kitchen to continue her rounds, she sighed. It seemed as if all the notes meant 'I love you' in different languages. The admirer was creative, that was for sure.  
  
HEAD AUROR GRAGERSON'S OFFICE  
  
James suppressed a sigh, trying to stand as still as possible. Gragerson was pacing in front of him, and his back was beginning to ache. Sirius was standing beside him. They had no idea why he had been called as well, but it didn't appear that they were in trouble, so James was just glad for the company.  
  
"So, men, have these classes been informative?" the Head Auror said suddenly, turning to face them.  
  
"Yes, sir," James replied, still looking straight ahead. "They have been most interesting."  
  
"Dear, dear, Potter, always so stiff. Relax a little," Gragerson said, shaking his head. "This is only my office, not a concentration camp. To operate well, we must all be friends, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US!"  
  
Both James and Sirius visibly jumped.  
  
"Y-yes, sir," James said, eyes almost looking wild.  
  
"Of course, sir," Sirius agreed.  
  
"Ah, yes, Black," Gragerson, said, nodding to himself. "I take it you have been going to these classes as well? Why is that, may I ask? Just to keep Potter company, or are you interested in COOKING yourself, perhaps?"  
  
"Uh, I was there for moral support," Sirius supplied.  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm sure," Gragerson said affably. "Well, I expect a full report of this in two weeks, form both of you, seeing as Black ENJOYS these classes SO MUCH!"  
  
"Yes, sir," James said weakly.  
  
Gragerson smiled.  
  
"Off you run, then," he said, turning back to his desk.  
  
James and Sirius saluted in turn, and then strode out the door.  
  
"Great," Sirius hissed. "Now I have to do work."  
  
"Your choice for coming along in the first place," James grinned.  
  
"Oi, you were the one who wanted me too!" Sirius said, looking injured. "Anyway, I think I'll drop the classes. I think I scared Sarah away. She wasn't there yesterday."  
  
James sighed. It seemed as if as soon as one relationship was patched up, another was ripped open.  
  
A/N: Soooooooooooo sorry this took so long, I've been really busy. Please review, as I'm dying for some feedback. Thankyou for reading!  
  
Jaizar. 


	10. Understanding

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except characters and events you can't recognize as being part of the Harry Potter series.

A/N: hey again! Well, I have to say, I'm a little disappointed at the lack of response I'm getting for this fic. I know it's not as good as Changing Rooms, but still, this is a completely new idea that I'm working with, so please cut me a little slack for that! Anyway, thanks for the reviews that I did get, and I hope you like this one.

Chapter Ten

Understanding

If there was one thing Sarah hated, it was unresolved conflict. Whenever she and Lily had had a fight when they were in Hogwarts, she had always been the one to try and quickly patch things up. She couldn't handle not knowing what was going on, or where she stood. That was why Tuesday morning found her standing outside the door to the Marauders apartment, confronting a pajama clad and rather sleepy Sirius Black.

"Look, I only said no to going out with you because I like you more than any other guy in the world, and that scares me, and I'm not sure if I want to explore this, just in case I get hurt, or you drop me like you used to drop girls in Hogwarts, and I just couldn't bare it if you did, so I think he best thing would be if we just went back to being friends and ignored this whole mess." She took a deep breath and then let it out in a sigh.

Sirius was standing as if a strong wind had blown past him just then.

"Come in," he said, turning away and letting her follow him inside.

The guy's apartment was in the usual disarray, but she managed to find space to sit on the couch. Sirius was silent as he made coffee for them both, and carried it over on a tray with some biscuits he'd managed to dig up from somewhere.

"Thanks," he said, looking at her honestly. "I'm glad you came to talk, instead of ignoring this."

"That's ok...I just...well, I don't like not knowing where I stand," Sarah finished, accepting the mug he handed her.

"Now it's my turn to be honest," Sirius began. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "You're the first girl I've ever felt this way about, but I now realize that you're right. Maybe we should leave this for a while, because this is...unknown to me. I don't know how to act, so perhaps I should...I dunno, explore this?" he half smiled. "I love you, Sarah. But let's be friends for a while longer."

Sarah opened her mouth, and then shut it again. Instead she smiled. Things were working out.

JAMES AND LILY

Lily had been confused of late. She was beginning to suspect that the anonymous notes could be from James. There was just something about the way he had been acting of late. Kind of furtive and slinky. And there was the way he had hit his head directly after she had found out what the last note meant. It was almost as if he had been shocked. Of course, that could have been because some creepy weirdo was sending her notes professing love...Lily sighed. She hated mysteries.

She was hanging around the park opposite her apartment.

"Hey, Lily," came a voice from behind her. James' voice. She turned with a smile.

"Hi," she greeted him, eyes shining in the way they only ever did when he was around.

"What's up? You look a little upset," James said, concern ringing through his voice.

"Oh, I'm not upset," Lily reassured him. "A little confused and angry, but apart from that, I'm fine."

"Why? It wasn't something I did was it?" James said quickly. He was being very careful not to hurt Lily again.

"No, just- you know, those notes I've been getting?" Lily said, rolling her eyes. "I'm getting sick of them."

James looked away, out over the park.

"Yeah well, don't dwell on it, I'm sure the creep will come out soon enough," he said. "Just tell me when he does, and I'll take care of him!"

Lily grinned.

"Yeah, I'm sure you would."

It was nice being with James these days. Just comfortable and easy going like it used to be. Suddenly, he reached over and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I say we go out again soon,' he said, a smile haunting the corner of his lips.

Lily nodded.

"Only if it's as good as it was last time," she warned. Then she laughed. Life was so beautiful at moments like this.

"What's so funny?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing. I'm just happy. You...you make me feel beautiful," she said honestly.

For a moment, James looked at her. Then he kissed her again, lingering this time.

"You are beautiful," he murmured.

And in that moment, she really believed it.

A/N: sorry that this was a) short and b) really late in coming out! I had a lot to do so it took a while. But thanks for all the reviews again, and keep them coming please!

Luv Jaizar.


	11. Something for Lily

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except characters and events you can't recognize as being part of the Harry Potter series.

A/N: Hey everyone! Thankyou all so much for the reviews, it was nice to get some feedback! I'll try to get this one out way more quickly than the last one. I have a feeling this may be one of the last chapters though. So, we'll just see, I guess...

Chapter Eleven

Something For Lily...

"I want to do something for Lily," James announced, plonking himself down on the bed in the boy's apartment. The one bedroom was fairly disarrayed at that moment. Clothes were strewn all over both of the beds, where Remus was trying drying spells on them, as the dryer at the muggle Laundromat was broken.

Sirius was searching through a cupboard for his oldest pair of jeans, adding even more clothes to the several piles surrounding James on his bed.

Remus rolled his eyes at James announcement.

"Oh god, not that again," he groaned. "Remember in seventh year when you 'wanted to do something for Lily'?"

"Yeah," grunted Sirius, pitching a shirt over his shoulder. "I recall he rearranged the stars for her. Kinda extravagant."

"Dramatic," Remus added. "Try to keep it simple this time."

James rolled his eyes at them both, outdoing Remus' earlier performance.

"Oh, shut up. Just because neither of you have ever had a shot at romance," he scoffed. "And anyway, I can't do the same thing twice. I was thinking I might cook her something- you know, show her that I learnt something in those classes..."

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea," Sirius said. "Aha! My jeans!" h held up a pair of worn out, faded, baggy jeans.

James shook his head, and went back to contemplating what he could make for Lily. Remus was going to roll his eyes, but they were feeling a little sore so instead he just lifted his wand and muttered another drying spell. Sirius shimmied into his jeans (he had been walking around in boxers). Nothing like old jeans for comfort.

IN A MUGGLE SHOPPING PLAZA

"This one's nice," Sarah said, holding up a pink top for Lily to inspect.

"I'm sick of pink. And green. I want something...black, or brown," Lily sighed.

"Brown would clash with your hair," Grace said wisely. "I think you should go for a blue. Blue looks good on everyone."

"Yeah, says the one person here who never wears colours anyway," Lily scoffed.

Grace looked down. True, she was wearing all black again. But what could she say? It suited her!

Sarah was clad in a knee length, brown skirt and a maroon, tie up top. She looked rather like a hippy with her hair tied back in a bandana, and bracelets lining her arms.

Lily on the other hand, was just wearing jeans and a short green jacket. She was frowning in concentration at a red skirt.

"That would clash with my hair too, wouldn't it?" she said, nodding at the skirt.

"Yep," Sarah said. "Look, I reckon James would love you in whatever you wear. Stress less."

"But he said we were going someplace special tonight," Lily said, turning to look at her friends. I want to make sure I wear good clothes, you know?"

"Oh, come on, James idea of special is a pub with a couple of tankards of beer," Sarah grinned. "Just don't worry about it."

"Hey, I see a store over there that looks promising," Grace said, nodding over at the other side, of the plaza.

Lily sighed, and tried to clear her mind. Sarah was right. It probably wouldn't be a big deal anyway. It was time to get down to some serious shopping.

BACK TO THE BOY'S APARTMENT

"What I'd like to know is, why cookies?" Sirius asked, as James turned dials on their tiny oven.

The boys were in the kitchen, minus Remus, who was watching form a distance. James had a muggle recipe book out, and was carefully preparing tins for the cookies that he had chosen to bake. Sirius, who had reluctantly agreed to help, was now dipping his hand into the bowl of choc chips, and filching a couple.

"Oi, hands out of there," James scolded, taking the bowl out of his hands and setting it back down on the bench. "And they're not just any cookies, they're choc-chip cookies!"

"Yeah, well, why choc chip cookies?" Sirius persisted. He grabbed a packet of flour and measured the amount James pointed out to him into another bowl.

"Because- well, because Choc chip cookies are just like love!" James said, looking a little flustered.

Sirius snorted in laughter.

"Hate to break it to you, but I kind of missed that comparison," he grinned.

"No, really," James said, turning to face his best friend. "Think about it. First there's the hard, breaking, crumbly bits you have to get through, and they take time to chew, and sometimes hurt your teeth. But every so often, you stumble across a choc chip, all soft and sweet and tasty. And it makes it all worth it. And you know that you'll definitely battle through another hard cookie, just for the choc chips your bound to find."

"Sorry, but what's this got to do with love?" Sirius asked, confused.

"He's being difficult on purpose," Remus said, coming in from the lounge room. "What James means is that Love is full of hard times, and breaks and makes. And sometimes it hurts. But there will always be those sweet, wonderful moments, the choc chips, which make it all worth it."

James nodded. "Exactly," he said.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, and ate another choc chip.

"Okey dokey, then," he conceded. "I still think it's a pathetic attempt at a comparison, but whatever you want. And I don't think Lily will get it either."

"Yeah, well," James muttered. "I'm counting on the fact that she's obviously more intelligent than you."

THE GIRL'S APARTMENT NOW.

Lily surveyed herself in the mirror. A simple, blue, wispy shirt coupled with a pair of dark green pants made her look like a forest fairy. James was bound to be coming any minute now, and she was finally ready.

The sound of the door opening reached her ears, and she took a deep breath. She had no idea why she was so nervous, but for some reason, she wanted this to be the best night in her life. And with James she knew it would be.

The door to her bedroom opened slightly, and Sarah's head poked in.

"He's here, hon," she said. "Wow, don't you look beautiful!"

"Do you think," Lily said uncertainly. "I'm not too sure about the top."

"It looks great," Sarah assured her. "Shall I send him in, or are you gonna come out?"

"I'm coming," lily said. She grabbed her handbag and followed Sarah out the door.

The guys were sitting in the lounge room, once again transfixed by the TV. Grace was in the kitchen, searching for something to eat, and Andrea was sitting next to Sirius, trying the get his attention.

"Ahem," Sarah said. No one looked up. "Oi, over here!"

James turned with a questioning look. It soon turned into an amazed look, as he saw Lily.

Smiling, he got up and cam over to her. He reached over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Looking beautiful as usual," he grinned.

Lily blushed a little, and smiled.

"How was you day?" she asked, trying the make him stop staring at her.

"Just got better," he said softly.

Sarah made a puking face at Sirius, who nodded grimly. Grace rolled her eyes.

"Grow up, you two," she said.

"Uh, we'll be leaving now,' James said, taking Lily's hand. She waved, and the next thing she knew, they had apparated to a lake with a crisp, grass area surrounding it.

For the first time, Lily noticed James had a picnic basket in his hands.

"You made all the food?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, we bought most of it from a take away place,' he admitted, loving the way lily's lips quirked when she tried not to smile. "But I did make one thing. I'll give it to you later."

"What is it?" Lily asked curiously.

"You'll just have to wait and see," James said, leading her over to the lake bank.

He laid out the rug and started taking out the food, carefully leaving his package of cookies in the basket. There was chicken, smoked salmon, bread rolls, still warm from a spell James had cast earlier, salad, small raspberry tarts and about ten other dishes that eventually covered the picnic rug.

"How on earth are we ever going to finish this lot?" Lily asked amazedly.

"We'll give the left-overs to Sirius," James grinned.

Lily came and sat next to him. She wondered why she had ever worried about what James would think of her. Whenever she was with him, she knew that he loved her.

After they had eaten, they sat down, looking over the lake.

"This kind of looks like the Hogwarts lake, doesn't it?" Lily remarked.

"Yeah," James nodded. He seemed a little pre occupied, so Lily remained silent.

Then, he got up suddenly, almost making Lily fall, as she was leaning on him. He marched over to where the picnic gear was, and rummaged through the basket. Lily frowned a little at him. Strange man.

"What are you doing?" she asked, bemused.

"Juts a sec," he called back. He walked over, clutching a parcel she had noticed earlier. He sat back down next to her and then turned to look into her eyes earnestly. "This is for you."

Lily smiled puzzled, taking the parcel.

"Thanks," she said, loving the way eh was almost blushing. She carefully lifted the wrapping paper off from around the parcel, and discovered that it was a small plastic container. Opening it, she saw a mound of tiny choc chip cookies.

She grinned and looked up at James. He ruffled his hair nervously, and smiled back at her.

"Choc chip cookies?" she said, lifting one out of the container. "Did you make these your self?"

"Uh, yeah," James nodded, trying not to catch her eye. For some reason he felt amazingly anxious. What if she didn't like them? Had he remembered to put all the ingredients in?

Lily lifted one up and popped it into her mouth. James watched as she chewed and swallowed. He was almost breaking out in sweat.

"Delicious," Lily said, still smiling. Reaching over, she kissed him carefully, and he tasted the chocolate on her lips. "If you don't mind me asking, why cookies? I mean, I love them and all, I juts didn't think you were the baking type."

"Well," James frowned a little. What was it he had said to Sirius? "I just like cookies. Maybe I'll explain it to you sometime."

Lily shrugged and nodded. James reached over and put an arm around her. They sat like that for a moment, and then James shifted again.

"I almost forgot," he said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slightly crumpled note and placed it on Lily's lap. She glanced u at him questioningly, but he just indicated the note with a tilt of his head.

She picked it up and unfolded it.

It read-

'Dearest Lily,

I've said it to you in so many languages. Now here it is in a language we both understand.

I love you.

Your crazy admirer, James.'

"It was you!" Lily exclaimed.

James grinned sheepishly.

"Stupid, huh?" he said.

"B-but, you were angry at the admirer. You said he was a creep or something!"

"I was acting, hon," James said. "I didn't want you t know. It was a stupid thing to start, but once I did, I couldn't stop."

"Where did you get the languages from?" Lily asked, glancing at the note again.

"A book I found in Remus' collection. It was pretty handy," he remarked. Her grinned at her again. "Sorry if I freaked you out."

Lily sat frowning at the note in confusion for a second. Then she leaned over and kissed him again.

"You know, that's the most romantic thing any ones ever done for me...except for maybe the time you changed the stars for me," she said.

James smiled and kissed her cheek.

"So long as you liked it,' he consented.

"So, I suppose I should tell you something," Lily said, pulling away a little.

"What?" James asked. He didn't want anything to go wrong now.

"Just...did you know that I love you?" she said suddenly, and then grinned at his expression.

"You little minx!" he said, tackling her down and pinning her arms to the ground. "I thought you were going to break up with me!"

"Minx?" Lily giggled. "Who the hell says that?"

James looked at her tenderly for a minute and then kissed her.

"Don't ever leave me, ok?" he said seriously.

"So long as you never leave me," she said softly.

And for the first time, it felt right.

BACK AT THE GIRL'S APARTMENT

Sarah leaned her head against Sirius' shoulder and smiled. Perhaps things would be ok after all. She felt him move his head, and then he kissed her softly on the forehead.

Andrea, Remus and Grace were trying the play chess with three people.

And somewhere, sitting by a lake, Lily and James were in love.

It doesn't get much better than this, does it?

A/N: so, that may just be the last chapter. What did you think? Thanks everyone for supporting me this far- you all rock! Please review this one too.

This isn't the last from me!

Love, Jaizar


End file.
